Workers of the World Unite

If only your computers would let you...

By

Jeremy Wagstaff Special to The Wall Street Journal

Updated Jan. 27, 2006 12:01 a.m. ET

It might seem obvious, but why is the Internet so unfriendly to teams? A vast network of people, all connected to each other, ought to be the ultimate collaborative environment. So why, for example, is it still difficult for a small group of workers (or anyone trying to work with someone else) to maintain a folder of documents that other members of the group can access and edit? Or to simply chat together online if they don't all use the same instant messaging program?